Uconn

Syracuse's Brandon Triche, left, and Jerami Grant, bottom right, scramble for a loose ball with Connecticut's DeAndre Daniels, top right, and Connecticut's Phillip Nolan, back center, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

HARTFORD — Phil Nolan has played more minutes than he played Wednesday night. He has scored more points than he did Wednesday night. He has had as many rebounds as he did Wednesday night.

The UConn freshman has never done anything as important on the court as what he did against Syracuse.

Pressed into 14 minutes of service against No. 6 Syracuse because of the suspension of Enosch Wolf, Nolan played good defense and ripped down five rebounds as the Huskies upset the Orange, 66-58, at the XL Center.

He badly wanted to check his text messages afterward. Bad reception in the XL kept him from doing so. Suffice to say, he's as popular today in UConn country as he is in his hometown of Milwaukee.

"Phillip had to come in and have the biggest role of the game," guard Shabazz Napier said. "I am so proud of Phillip. He did what he had to do, plus more. We commend him for that. We appreciate that effort."

Nolan needed to do more than hold his own against a big Syracuse team and he did just that. Not a factor offensively, where he is still learning his way around, Nolan came up with one of UConn's two blocked shots and was tough underneath when fighting for rebounds.

Nolan, who hadn't played more than 10 minutes in a Big East game and hadn't played at all in two of the prior three games, got a lesson in banging from Tyler Olander and former Husky Donny Marshall in practice Tuesday. He knew what to expect and said he wasn't nervous in the least.

It showed.

"That was pretty beneficial," Nolan said of Tuesday's practice. "Tyler kind of banged with me a lot to get me ready for the game. It really helped. Tyler afterward told me the correct way to box out and stuff because people were getting by me a few times.

"I did everything I normally do. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I didn't want to make too much out of it."

Future in doubt: Wolf appeared Wednesday in Rockville Superior Court to answer charges stemming from his Monday arrest for a domestic incident. Wolf's case was continued to March 20 by Judge Edward Mullarkey.

Ollie imposed an indefinite suspension on Wolf and said he wanted to let the legal process run its course. That combined with the next court appearance coming well after UConn's season ends means Wolf might have played his last game for the Huskies this year and possibly for the future.

Wolf, 22, was arrested and charged with burglary in the third degree, criminal trespass in the first degree and disorderly conduct.

"I just want to say I'm sorry and I apologize for what I put the university through, what I put the coaches through, the people at the university, my teammates and my family," Wolf told reporters outside the courthouse.

Mullarkey put a partial protective order in place for the female victim, which means that Wolf and the victim can communicate and have contact with each other.

Wolf remains enrolled at UConn and is living in the dorms and taking classes.

Big by default?: Without Wolf, Ollie will have to mix and match his lineup in the front court, especially with the struggles Olander has encountered. That means 6-foot-8 DeAndre Daniels and 6-7 Niels Giffey might have to log some meaningful minutes as default big guys. Ollie has played those two up front before but it's not something he wants to do often.

"I had to do that off of extreme circumstances," Ollie said. "It's something we're going to have to look into because (if there is) any foul trouble, it's a lineup we're going to have to go to.

"I like their activity. If we can rebound, we can fast break with DeAndre and Niels."

UConn closed the game with Daniels and Giffey as the front court and it worked well.

Old foes: Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and former UConn coach Jim Calhoun, who faced each other in a number of memorable games during a 26-year span, spent some time catching up before the game.

Each of them has beaten prostate cancer and raised money for Coaches vs. Cancer, among other charities they are involved in. Between the two, they own four national titles. Calhoun amassed three in his career and Boeheim's Orange won the 2003 title.

Calhoun was less than happy with the fact that Wednesday night's game was possibly the last in the rivalry.

"People make decisions in 10 minutes to end a rivalry that's lasted 30 years," he said. "It has everything to do with football and nothing to do with basketball."

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